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The new theater addition is on hold for now

 
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wowchad




Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Posts: 53
Location: Milwaukee'ish, WI


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:19 am    Post subject: The new theater addition is on hold for now Reply with quote


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I've been stringing you new found, helpful friends along with a few pictures and questions about my HT project for a while now. Thought I'd drop in and tell you what's taking me so long.
I can't really afford to pay contractors for all the work so I've been working on it in my spare time which is not much these days. I just took on a new product line distributing Canadian snowmobile parts so between that, the family and regular responsibilities I just haven't had the time to put into this hobby lately.

I'm ready to run wires for electrical and low voltage however I do really want to think it through well enough before I'm fish taping forgotten wires through the joist spaces.

I'm pretty excited to watch something down there on a big 'ol screen; I have most all of the equipment in storage itching to be put to use. I sent my DLP PJ to Runco for repair this week and ordered the CRT set up dvd for the Vision in the mean time.
I hope to have wire in the walls by the end of February and drywall hopefully soon after! Definitely before the snow melts and yard work starts Wink
Depends how late past the snow season I stay busy with all the calls at work.
I bought a new to me snowmobile last March and my son and I took it out for the first time tonight if that's any indication of how thin I'm spread!
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akajester




Joined: 09 Jul 2008
Posts: 934
Location: Wisconsin


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, it'll happen. Some good things take time. I spent years (10+) dreaming of my movie watching space. I would sit in the basement on a chair for hours with a pen and paper sketching things out.

Dale
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prover




Joined: 07 Nov 2008
Posts: 166
Location: Stuttgart, Germany


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

as great old Confusius said: great wall of China was not built in a day
it took me almost 4 years from the first thought to the first movie watch in my basememt HT and work is still not finished...
I use to think about this Confusius citation while still working: The journey is the reward Very Happy

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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator



Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26690
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

C'mon, once you get the projector in there and set it up "Just to make sure it's working" then all work stops for 20-30 movies Laughing
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech



Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24296
Location: Langley, BC

TV/Projector: All of them!


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 3:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A couple of points:

1) Run conduit rather than cable. If the HDMI thing goes away in 6 years and is replaced with optical, you're screwed if you don't allow for that. Conduit runs a bit of money, but you'll thank me for the idea as soon as you want to add a cable.

2) Why would you send ANYTHING to Runco for repair? Beware that from posts on avs, you'll pay THROUGH THE NOSE for a repair. Unless it's a 1080p machine, call it a day, write it off and.. oh wait.. I know.... INSTALL THE CRT.Smile

Seriously, I know one guy that paid Runco $7500 to repair a 720p DLP about 2 years ago. He could have bought a brand new 1080p JVC that would run circles around the Runco, but he went ahead and got it repaired anyways. Most people on avs were discouraging him from repairing it, but he was of the mindset that because it was $40K new, it was worth $7500 to repair. Unfortunately that's not the case.

Just FYI.


Last edited by Curt Palme on Fri Jan 14, 2011 3:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator



Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah

TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good suggestions, Curt. I ran a giant piece of conduit and I've already used it to string another cable I forgot about when I was installing everything. Oh, and I can't imagine anything but a nearly-new/under warranty machine being worth it to send to Runco for repair... Even stuff that's just a few years old can be eclipsed performance-wise with new stuff that's pretty cheap.

As for DIY and taking your time... Don't worry about it. I started my build in January, painted and got carpet in May, started watching movies in June, and didn't get all the trim finished and the room complete until the next fall... And it was having a meet that finally lit a fire under my ass - in fact, that was half the reason I had the meet.

Oh, and Jeremy is so right... Do NOT make the theater usable until you are pretty happy with the state of completion because once you can sit and watch a movie, the motivation factor drops WAY down.

SC
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zaphod




Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 2002
Location: Cloverdale


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah curt and I were in my first theater, just hung my first PJ and he commented that with hdmi starting to take hold, maybe i should have run that or a conduit Smile next theater will have a conduit.

HDMI protocol over cat6 is starting to take hold. for that (and for other reasons) i'd also run cat6.

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wowchad




Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Posts: 53
Location: Milwaukee'ish, WI


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the encouragement, it helps most everyone seems in the same position with their lack of time.

I did run 2" elect conduit and 3/4 smurf tube for everything so there's not much else with low volt except to finish fishing and terminate. I have to install my router etc down there too (so we can finally stop tripping over it across the carpet upstairs) Embarassed
But guys since the DLP PJ is sitting on the UPS cart in the shop right now, before I send it I'll ask...
Who else is going to repair the fan board in a VX2c 3 chip DLP?

I already tried the authorized repair center down in Chicago and they said they attempted to get a service manual for this model but were informed that this model can only be serviced by Runco at their service facility in OR.
I'm no where near qualified enough to pull off a job like this so I'm not even looking "under the hood"
If its too much $$ I just wouldn't do it.
Since I have both of these already paid for (I found them cheap - cheap - cheap) I'm seriously planning to try and run both of them. I have a step down from my sunken bedroom upstairs where I can hang the CRT up out of the way closer to the screen with the big DLP behind it without it being in the way. I'll try to take a picture tonight so you get a clear idea of what I have up my sleeve!


Last edited by wowchad on Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech



Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24296
Location: Langley, BC

TV/Projector: All of them!


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Call Runco before sending it there. I am getting in a VX3 shortly, and I'll sell it for far less than Runco will charge to fix the 2.

Macgyver could probably fix it, I can also take a shot at it if you want, but call Runco first and get an estimate/minimum charge first (and please post it here, I'm realllllly curious).

Also keep in mind that Runco was sold a couple of years ago, and my understanding is that most of the key staff stayed in California, so I'm guessing that any of their techs looking at this unit won't know it well anyways.**


** note that this is pure speculation on my part...
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wowchad




Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Posts: 53
Location: Milwaukee'ish, WI


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

$1600 which is wayyy to much for me to spend on it right now. Especially when I have a perfectly good Vision II sitting here!
Oh and they now think its a power supply maybe not just a fan board. Although these apparently are known for bad fan boards from what I've read...$1600 jeesh Rolling Eyes
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator



Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah

TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ummm... A VX2c is a six year-old design 720p 3-chip DLP projector... $1600 is too wayyy too much for anybody to spend on it, at any time, IMHO. Heck, is that projector even worth $1600, anymore?!?!? Even if it is, it can't be worth more than a couple grand, can it?

Regardless, $1600 is a sizable chunk of the purchase price of a much newer 1080p projector... You could buy something like a Panny AE4000 or Epson 9100 for not that much more money, and I suspect they would both destroy the Runco in every way save for brightness. The Runco would probably run at around the same brightness on a 12' wide screen as the Panny or Epson on a 10' screen, but it would be doing it with lower resolution and probably not as nice of an overall image.

$1600... That's crazy. Not surprising, I guess... But crazy.

SC
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech



Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24296
Location: Langley, BC

TV/Projector: All of them!


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Guys, Runco, VDC, Sony, etc don't give a damn what the CURRENT resale price is. To them, it's a $30K, $40K, $50K machine because that's how much it was when new. You don't get Mercedes to do a $49 tuneup just because it's a 1981 model, right?

So yeah, insane pricing, but some people will pay that if they don't do research as to what the item is worth now.
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator



Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah

TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010


PostLink    Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I realize Runco doesn't care what the whole machine is worth when they price their repairs, Curt... All I was getting at was that if the machine can't be repaired easily by a third-party (you, mac, etc.), then it's toast... A total.

Just like if the 1981 Mercedes turns a main bearing... If the Mercedes dealer wants $3000 to pull the motor and replace the bottom end and the car isn't worth $3000, you don't just suck it up and fix the motor... You either find third party to do it cheaper, or you sell the car for whatever you can get out of it - whatever that is. Same with this projector.

SC
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Ile




Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1491
Location: Jyväskylä, Finland


PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have same stucked situation here, so you are not alone. Very Happy

Most of my spare time have been for snow removal lately, it's about 70cm (28") now and I guess there will be "some" more during next two months. Shocked
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JustGreg




Joined: 07 Mar 2006
Posts: 3098
Location: Kenosha, WI


PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Funny...I started out with an unfinished basement, a Sony HS10 light cannon, a cheap ass pull down 16x9 screen and a couple lawn chairs. While Googling projectors at the time I stumbled onto AVS. I hung out there a while with my millions of shades of gray digital questions until I started reading posts by this weird CRT crowd. They got me hooked with all the tweeking and fiddling and yes, even their frustrations involved with owning a CRT projector. So I looked around a little and found a Marquee 8500. It was more than I should have spent on a fledgling hobby but when my wife said OK...I jumped on it. And I haven't looked back since.

I've gotten better at my hobby; albeit not as fast as others (you guys know who you are... and you SUCK! Laughing ) but I'm having a blast. The HT is more than a couple lawn chairs now but I too didn't have the benefit of 'The Informed' at the time I walled it in. I could have used someone to suggest I should run PVC conduit but I did think ahead, and ran a pull along with the other wires. Over time as things evolved I made a big Boo-Boo. The pull got pulled when I forgot to tie off the smart end while yanking out a 110 line for sconce lights I decided not to use. So I no longer have a pull. Rolling Eyes It's now 'Is what it is' because there's no way I'm tearing down a wall and ceiling to install a chase. Cool

As for not putting the pj up before you've gotten the majority of buildout done?....*hand raised, head down* I'm guilty. But in my defense, I don't have alot of time now; or energy, to do much more than go down there once or twice a week and either watch a movie, or bang away at Rock Band/Guitar Hero (on a modified POS plastic git-tar I tweeked..heh-heh...it has one string, and I can use a REAL pick!); usually all by my lonesome due to the late hours I keep.

So it's just me sitting down there bitching damn near at the top of my lungs at the injustice of being denied 5 stars in Rock Band; despite my self proclaimed standing as a 'Super Rock Stud'. Mr. Green

I love it! Thumbs Up

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"Is it ignorance or apathy? Hey, I don't know and I don't care!" --Jimmy Buffett
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